Azkaban Asylum
by livy bear
Summary: James is stuck in an insane asylum, and someone killed his family. Lily is a psychologist/escape artist? Marlene wants out. Jily AU, heavily inspired by American Horror Story. Possible chapters if interest shown, but for now, marked complete. James/Lily, Marlene/Sirius
1. Chapter 1

James Potter had been there for four months, one week, two days, and six hours.

Four months, one week, two days, and six hours since he'd been wrongly accused of murdering his whole family and locked away in Azkaban Asylum for the Criminally Insane. According to the police report, around 3 am, May 5th, he got out of bed and drowned his sister, next shooting his parents as they slept. What the police report didn't write down was James' own injuries to the back of the head.

He had woken up to the sound of water running in the bathroom, and stood to go see why it was going so late. He'd seen the flooding in the hallway, saw his ten year old sister floating in the tub, and tried to wake her-that's why his own DNA was on her body. The shots went off, and when he'd gotten to his parents room-BAM. Someone knocked him on the head and planted fake evidence against him. His ranting and screaming about how it wasn't him was just enough to weasel him out of the death penalty and into innocence by insanity.

Four months, one week, two days, and six hours since he'd been treated by Dr. Lily Evans, a gentle therapist who never shot down his claims of innocence. She always started their daily sessions with the same question: "What do you remember from that night?" The facts never changed. He could tell her exactly how the shadows fell on the pictures decorating the hallway. Exactly how cold his sister was and the shade of blue her lips were. Then she would ask, "If it wasn't you, who was it?"

He didn't know who had done it, who could have. His parents were kind, loving people. They were rich, yes, but they donated enough time and money to good causes that it couldn't be considered a condemning factor.

And now they were gone, and the whole country blamed James.

"Mr. Potter?" The door to his room-his cell, creaked open. A woman with a strict brown bun, but sweet face had stuck her head into the room. Two burly orderlies were standing behind her. "It's time for your medicine; afterwards you may sit in the Day Room until your time with Dr. Evans."

"Thanks, Mary." James threw her a wink, pushing himself off the bed. He downed the pills, shoving past the orderlies to saunter towards the Day Room.

The room itself was sickeningly happy, with peeling flowers and cartoon gardens painted on the walls the place looked more like a failing kindergarten than an asylum. The small number of people like him-white pajamas and hopeless expressions-had conjugated themselves near the couches or the windows. One familiar blonde head caught his eye near a dark haired orderly by the set of doors leading to the administrative wing, and then, eventually, out.

Her name was Marlene. That's all James knew about the girl who was shamelessly hanging off the black haired orderly. Who knew what she was in for; she never socialized outside of flirting with the workers. Yet for some reason they would sit by each other in comfortable silence at lunch, suffer through movie nights with shared looks at each other. He'd never heard more than "My name's Marlene, and I'm going to sit here okay?" out of her mouth. He'd never said more than his own name to her. But of course everyone knew who he was; his trial had been on the news for half of his time in here. There were people protesting his freedom, people protesting for his head on a spike, and people constantly trying to get into the asylum to get "his story".

James took his usual seat by the second window, overlooking the highway; some would say it was the worst window to sit at because who wanted to look at boring old cars? It soothed James, though. He liked to watch them drive by and make up stories for each car: a blue one that was late to a wedding; the grey minivan carrying a girls' soccer team to practice; a yellow sports car that belonged to a multimillionaire that'd just realized he really did love his secretary and was racing to stop her from getting on a plane. A police car racing to a house where three people had just been murdered and-

James jolted away from the window like he'd been electrocuted. His heart raced in his chest, and he couldn't seem to get his breath. The room was suddenly too small, and everything inch of his being was telling him something was wrong. The small logical bit of his mind told him everything was alright, he was save, but God, if he didn't feel like he was burning from the inside out. He backed up quickly, not paying attention to where he was stepping and knocked straight into Marlene (who'd noticed his sudden motion and gone over to investigate).

She grabbed his arms to steady him, but then quickly dropped her hold as she assessed the situation. "James?" She held her hands out tentatively. His panicked hazel eyes snapped to her worried brown ones.

"Let's go for a walk, yeah?" She gestured to the inner door, but James shook his head. "Is it alright if I touch you, James?"

He nodded, and Marlene dropped a comforting hand on his arm.

"You're safe." She assured him. "I'm right here."

James nodded, feeling himself relaxing slowly. After about an hour of the same sort of thing, plus a glass of cold water and a pillow, he finally started feeling normal again.

"How did you know what to do?" He asked quietly. Marlene, who'd been staring off, thinking about something or other, turned her head back.

"My mother used to have panic attacks like that all the time." She smiled, somewhat bitter sweetly. "My father was a drunk, so I'd have to take care of her. You sort of learn what to do."

"What happened to her?" James clamped his mouth shut, hoping the question wasn't too invasive.

"She's living in Vermont with my grandmother."

"And your father."

"I killed him."

He blinked. "Marlene, how old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"You killed your father at eighteen?"

"No," She shook her head. "I killed my father at fifteen."

"Oh," James was suddenly a tad more wary of her. Of course, he'd known that he was surrounded by murderers and people with mental illnesses, but he'd never really thought about it extensively. Marlene seemed nice enough, intelligent too, and it really puzzled him what drove her to kill her father. Definitely not a psychotic break because she seemed stable enough. Although, she had been there for three years, and that was enough time to rehabilitate you. Or if she was a sociopath, it was enough time to learn how to mimic emotion. He unconsciously leaned away from the blonde beside him.

Marlene noticed and looked like she was going to say something, but just then Mary returned, placing a hand on James' shoulder. "Time for Dr. Evans." He almost kissed the brunette in relief.

He pushed through the doors to the administrative section and went three doors down before reaching the one reading Lily Evans, MD, PhD, and a bunch of other things James had no clue about. He pushed the door open, eyes immediately finding the redheaded doctor. She glanced up from her work, smiling comfortably.

"Afternoon, James, I'm just finishing up some papers. Please sit." She nodded to the cushioned chairs in front of her desk, and James happily obliged. Her office was homey, like her personality. The walls, a warm mahogany, were in contrast with the strict white of the rest of the building and the sickening yellow of the Day Room. Her degrees and diplomas hung on the wall to the right of the door, just over a bookcase stuffed not only with medical encyclopedias but books like _The Great Gatsby_, _To Kill a Mockingbird_, _Night_, and even a Bible, a Qur'an, and a few other religious texts. On his first visit James had inquired about these.

_"Religious, are we?" James asked, pointing to the holy books._

_"No, they're for my patients who are." Dr. Evans-Lily, as she'd insisted to be called-smiled. "I'm agnostic."_

Along with these books, other things around the room provided a sense of comfort for everyone. The wood paneled floors and the comfy flannel blankets on the couch were two things more that made James forget where he was and think he was simply in a friend's home. She didn't have any personal photos hanging, but there was one of the hospital staff and another of the patients sitting atop her file cabinet.

Lily herself even dressed in a comforting way. Her color pallet was warm yellows, oranges and browns. The coat she usually wore when walking through the patient living quarters was hanging on a coat hanger in the back corner of the room. She had a yellow sleeveless blouse on, that was tucked into a long skirt with a marigold and poppy pattern. Her hair fell in waves over her right shoulder, a small braid from just above her left ear circled through her hair, holding it back from falling on one side.

She shuffled her papers, seemingly finished, and put them away in her file cabinet. She circled around to the other side of her desk, and leaned against the corner. "Tell me about that night." James recited the familiar story, but something was different about how Lily was listening. Once James had completed, he stared at her expectantly while she watched the door.

"I believe you're innocent." She said suddenly, green eyes flickering down to meet his.

"Y-you do?"

"Have since the first time they brought you in here."

"Then why am I still here!" James jumped from his chair. "Get me out of here!"

"I tried to arrange for your release in June, but with no proof of whom really did it..." She trailed off, looking sadly at the door again.

"There's nothing you can do." He slumped back in his chair, disheartened again.

"Not exactly." He felt, rather than saw, Lily take the seat next to him. Her hand came to rest on his knee, and her eyes sought his out. "There's a way I can get you out, but, well, it's dangerous, James, and highly illegal."

"What do you mean?"

"I can break you out." She moved back to behind her desk, pulling open a drawer and taking out a folded bit of paper. She unfolded it, and James could immediately tell it was a map. She took a red pen from her clipboard and traced a path. "There's a way, if you go to the basement and through the kitchen, there's a delivery zone where you can hop on a truck and ride it out. I've got an orderly to smuggle you clothes in, and he'll help you out. I trust him with my life."

"When should I go?" James reached for the map.

Lily shook her head. "Oh the doors are sealed from the inside; you have to get dish duty."

"How do I do that?"

"Start a fight," She winced, probably aware of how tricky that was going to be. "Once you're in, hide behind the tray dryer until the lights go out at ten."

She stood abruptly, "Our session is done, take the map, and hide it. Don't tell anyone. I'll meet you down there if I can." She ushered James out into the hallway, smiling serenely.

He stumbled confusedly back into the Day Room, dropping into the chair he'd occupied before. The room was fuller than before, and louder. The burly orderly that Marlene had flirted with was gone, replaced with a younger pudgier fellow.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Marlene remarked, dropping into the chair opposite him.

"Start a fight with me." James demanded.

"What, why?" She recoiled, taken aback.

"I need to get kitchen duty."

"Why?" She leaned forward, intrigued. It was widely known that kitchen duty was hell on earth. The patients in the asylum were messy eaters, and even aside from that, those who worked were usually given the most disgusting jobs like unclogging the drains, cleaning the dirty plates, and cleaning up any spills. So, unless there was a fight, it usually worked on an alphabetical rota, meaning Marlene and James had it at the same time, seeing as though her last name was McKinnon and his was Potter. It was on U-Z currently.

"I just do."

"Tell me,"

"No,"

"James,"

"No,"

"What's that in your pocket?"

"Nothing."

"Liar," Marlene reached forward and yanked the map from James' chest pocket. She unfolded it, gasping. "You're breaking out!"

He hushed her, glancing towards the orderlies at the door. The burly one was back, he noted. "Yes I am." James nodded, finally turning back to look at her.

"I'm coming with you." She insisted, handing him the map back, which he took and tucked it securely in his pocket.

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am." Marlene huffed. "I know about the map, and you need someone to start a fight with, right? So I help you fight, and you help me out."

James glared at her for a solid minute weighing the decision in his mind. Marlene had killed her father, but he didn't know why. She always helped him. If he took her, this also meant that she would need clothes too. This meant that James would have to ask Lily for some.

"Fine," James sighed. Marlene hugged him gleefully. "Here we go then." And he pushed Marlene. She fell back, rather dramatically, knocking over a table. Stomping forward, she struck his cheek with her hand and tackled him to the floor. They rolled around scratching and shoving at each other, with muttered apologies here and there. It hadn't even been a minute before the burly orderly and the pudgy orderly had yanked the two apart.

"That's kitchen duty for both of you!" Snapped the burly one holding Marlene against his chest.

"He started it," Marlene spat.

"I don't care." Said the same orderly. "I'll see both of you at seven in the kitchens." He dragged Marlene away through the doors, and the other took him shortly after, depositing him unceremoniously on the floor of his room.

James sat up, looking around the barren room in contempt. This was going to be his last night. His last night in four months, one week, two days, and eight hours. He smiled, drifting off into a rough sleep.

_The water was running._

_"Anna?"_

_Silence. Water running. Her black hair tangled and wet, floating around her head as her body hung limply over the side of the overflowing tub. The lights cast a harsh light to her pale-blue-lipped face. James could have screamed._

BANG, BANG

_His parents!_

BANG

_What? No, that wasn't a gun. _

James jerked up in bed, covered in sweat. The clock on the wall read seven. He jumped as someone knocked on his door again. He pulled the door open, after placing his glasses on again. There stood the burly orderly; he pushed his way into the room, dropping sheets onto the bed. He quickly unfolded them, revealing a flannel shirt, jeans, and tennis shoes.

"So you're the orderly then?"

"Name's Sirius," The burly orderly nodded, starting back for the door.

"Wait," James grabbed Sirius' wrist, and the man turned. "Marlene McKinnon is coming too. She needs clothes."

Sirius sighed. "I'll talk to Lily." He motioned to the clothes. "Put those on under your patient uniform and head down towards the kitchens."

James nodded, changing quickly once Sirius had left. He adjusted to the uncomfortable feeling of two layers, and started the trek. He walked down the hallway before reaching the staircase leading to the kitchens on his left. The stairs leading down were lit in an eerie yellow light, and James couldn't help checking over his shoulder every few seconds. He knew he hadn't done anything wrong, yet. He was perfectly in his right to be heading down these stairs. Subconsciously, he patted at his back pocket for the map. It was still there.

The kitchen was nearly empty, seeing as though there weren't many U-Z last names in the place. He saw Michael Zabini scrubbing helplessly at what looked suspiciously like a vomit stain on the floor. James gagged, waiting near the door for Marlene. It was another few minutes before she'd made it down. She greeted him with a silent inclination of her head. They were instructed to drying the plates, thank god.

After two hours of working without a break, the head cook started directing people out. James grabbed Marlene's wrist and quietly dragged her behind the tray drying racks in the back-most corner of the kitchen while the head was preoccupied with a specifically impudent patient. The two peered through the slits in the dryer, watching as the cook did a once over of the room, shut the lights off and left. Breathing for the first time since Lily had told him the plan, James began to pull of the asylum clothes.

"Wait," Marlene interrupted him.

"What?"

"We're sneaking out," She said, and James nodded giving her a 'duh' expression. "If we're seen it'll be less conspicuous if we're not in normal clothes."

He mentally swore. "You're right, okay." He pulled the map out of his back pocket. Glancing over it, he could barely tell the route to the delivery doors Lily had mapped out. It looked like they just needed to leave through the double doors on the opposite side of the kitchen and they'd be there. James was about to come out from their hiding spot when the other doors opened up.

"Shit," Marlene yanked him back down. "I thought you said they're locked!"

"They are!" Whoever this was had a key. James peeked around, and immediately recognized the telltale red hair and bulky forms.

"James, Marlene?" Came the harsh whisper.

"Lily," James called, moving from their hiding spot, and into the innermost part of the kitchen, Marlene following behind.

Lily held out a bundle to Marlene. "Clothes," She explained. Marlene took it, smiling gratefully at the doctor.

"C'mon," Sirius moved toward the opposite double doors, and the three followed. He unlocked it, looking around for the truck, nodding and motioning them through when he saw it backing up. The driver jumped out, walking over to them. He greeted Lily and Sirius familiarly, and James absently wondered if this was Lily's boyfriend, since she didn't have a ring on. The idea perturbed him for some reason.

The driver had sandy blonde hair, and a kind face. He was leaner than Sirius, but no less tall. Turning, he reached his left hand out to shake James and Marlene's hands. James felt a ring on his finger, and relaxed, liking the driver more and more. "I'm Remus," He shook Marlene's hand. "And old school friend of Lily's."

"Nice to meet you." Marlene greeted as James asked, at the same time: "You can get us out?"

"You too, and I can." He motioned towards the truck, heading back to the driver's seat.

Lily took either of their hands, squeezing them. "Good luck, all of you."

James continued to grip hers tightly. "Thank you, Lily." Without thinking about it more than that, he leaned in and pecked her on the lips. She stared at him in shock, but not disgust.

"Oh bugger it." Marlene grabbed Sirius by the collar and pulled his face down to her own. She kissed him, much less chaste than James had kissed Lily. After she pulled away from a smirking Sirius she looked around with a shrug. "S'not like I'll be able to do it again."

"I'm coming _with_ you, McKinnon." Sirius laughed, showing the first trace of humor James had ever seen from him. Marlene stared at him, mouth open cheeks bright red. That's when she and James both registered his black T-shirt and jeans. Not the orderly uniform at all.

"Write me." Lily smiled at James, kissing him once more. "And we can call this 'to be continued.'"

Still smiling James, Marlene, and Sirius climbed into the back of the truck and sat down behind banana crates, waiting for the truck to move. As soon as it did, Marlene and James pulled their asylum clothes off, tossing them into a corner. Marlene had a floral print, collared dress on with a cloth belt around her waist. She tugged her blonde hair up into a ponytail as James ran a hand through his. They both tugged their trainers on, and James couldn't help noticing how Lily the outfit was.

Sirius fell asleep about an hour into the drive, and Marlene curled against James. The compartment was cold to keep the produce good, and the grates jumped and shook every so often, putting James on edge.

"Why did you kill your dad, Marlene?" James whispered after some time more. He felt her go stiff.

"Um," She sat up slowly. "My mom, she was having a panic attack. I wasn't home. My dad was. He was drunk and didn't know what she was doing. She told me he yelled at her to stop, which made it worse and..." She took a deep breath. "When I came home he'd been beating her for a good half an hour already. So I bashed his head in with a lamp. In court I was tagged a sociopath because I wasn't remorseful, and shipped off."

"I'm sorry,"

"It was a long time ago."

"But I am." James put a protective arm around her. Protecting her from what, he didn't know. "I was in because they thought I killed my family."

"Did you?"

"No,"

"Do you know who did?"

"No, but I'm going to figure it out."

* * *

**A/N- Inspired heavily by American Horror Story: Asylum, this is my first chapter AU! Wooo! Per request of an anon on tumblr.**

**If you guys like it enough, I will continue the fic in chapters. I purposefully left resolutions out. Such things like, who killed James' family? What happens to Lily? Why did she decide to help him? Where's Peter? What happens with Remus? And so on and so forth.**

**I don't own Harry Potter.**


	2. Chapter 2

Azkaban Asylum, the pinnacle of treatment for the clinically insane. The only institution Lily had ever considered working at. In school, her teachers had tried to sway her to a nursing field, or something more feminine, but Lily's interest remained intently set on psychology. Within a few years after graduation, she achieved her dream of working for the asylum. She rose steadily in her position there until she was head of the medical authority. The hospital itself, though once a shining beacon of patient care, had fallen in its standards. The staff cared less about individual patients and let the building fall into disrepair.

Every morning, when Lily walked in through the great mahogany doors, she imagined them in their heyday. The intricate designs depicting angels rising up to heaven-located on the top of the door-shining with fresh polish, and the inner doors being a shining silver, rather than a rusted version of metal that had been painted too many times. She pictured the linoleum floors shining and unscuffed. It had become a pastime of hers to imagine the grand staircase leading up to the administrative wing as fresh and waxed, chandeliers lit and dusted, art decorating the now dull hallways, and the carpet free of stains.

Nothing was new anymore, but Lily had made it her personal mission to be the light in the hole of an establishment. She arranged her wardrobe to be light and fun and warm, something that the stark walls and fluorescent lights took away. She took a personal interest in all of her patients, but none so more than James Potter. He was clever in a way she hadn't expected after reading his case. He smiled more than he frowned, in the beginning, and it was refreshing to Lily, who-after tens of patients that had lost their hope long ago-had nearly given up. The warmth she tried to bring to the establishment became less and less forced, and the more she came to know him the more she was certain he was innocent.

_A knock at her door signaled the next patient was waiting and ready for their appointment. It was a warm afternoon in late May, and a new patient had been placed in the asylum under her care. Lily, shuffled her papers, straightened her dress and pushed her hair behind her ears, not quite certain why she was. The name on her clipboard read James Charlus Potter, aged 24 years. _

Funny, he's the same age as me, _thought Lily._

_ She called for him to come in, and the door slowly pushed open. The first thing she noticed was hair, messy, black hair. The second thing she noticed was how he shifted his weight and had his jaw clenched telltale signs that he was nervous or scared. Lily felt an easy smile spread across her face as she gestured to the brown, cushioned chair in front of her desk. "Please, take a seat." She said sweetly. Whether it be the ease of her voice or the atmosphere of the room as a whole, James relaxed his shoulders and slid into the chair. He made eye contact soon after sitting, and Lily noted the intensity emanating those hazel eyes. She didn't even notice the glasses until he pushed them back up his nose ten minutes into the session. They conversed like old friends, laughing and joking where they should have been serious._

_ Soon they had stopped talking about his case, and Lily had moved out from behind her desk to the chair next to his. They faced each other directly, he with his feet up on the armrest of her chair, and she with her own tucked under her. "Do you enjoy football, James?" She had asked._

"_I was captain in college." He grinned, fiddling with one of the twisty-top pens Lily had sitting on her desk._

"_It's my favorite sport." Lily admitted._

"_You've brilliant taste." James said. She stared intently at him, but he wasn't watching her, rather the books on her shelf. He lifted the pen to point, "Religious, are we?"_

_ "No, they're for my patients who are." She laughed. "I'm agnostic."_

_ "Are you really?" _

_ "Yes,"_

_ "Raised that way?"_

_ "No, I was raised Christian."_

_ James nodded like he understood. Of course, Lily didn't know it then, but soon after the session was over and she was left to her notes, she decided he was innocent. There was no way he had committed the crime when his personal account hadn't changed in the slightest. That left Lily pondering who could have done it, and how the evidence had been so skewed to make James the guilty party. _

In the process of unlocking her office, Lily was jarred from her memory by a shout. Turning, she saw a petite girl running shoeless down the administrative wing. The girl-blonde hair billowing out behind her, had glee plastered across her face as her socks skidded on the wood. Lily vaguely recognized her, but didn't know her any better than by facial recognition. This girl was around a few times a week because of her father, Dr. Lovegood.

Dr. Xenophilius Lovegood wasn't a doctor of conventional means, and often had himself in trouble with the higher ups for 'associating with the patients' when he ought to be 'properly diagnosing them'. Lily, of course, thought this was complete bollocks because she'd never seen a single one of his patients leave in any sort of bad temper. Xenophilius was a peculiar man on his own. He had no regard for the hospital employee dress code and wore whatever pleased him most that day. It seemed to Lily that this mostly consisted of bed robes and loafers. He wore strange jewelries and referred to himself in the third person every so often, but Lily only assumed the latter due to an incident of her walking into his office only to find him speaking loudly to himself about lord knows what. He was, on any occasion, a very competent doctor.

As the blonde child halted herself in front of Lily by dropping to her butt on the floor, her gaze drifted upward in the innocent way only a child's can. Her large blue eyes surveyed the scene intelligently, taking in Lily's attire, face, and presence of shoes. The shoes seemed to fascinate her most.

"How come you haven't lost your shoes?" The child questioned.

"Magic," Lily smiled, crouching down to the girl's height. "Where have yours gone?"

"My mates like to take them," She said.

"They can't be very good mates, then."

"Oh they are," The girl insisted. "They're just playing jokes." Lily immediately felt sorry for the child, too young or too naive to understand that those children weren't playing harmless jokes.

"Luna," Xenophilius called gently to his daughter.

The girl, Luna, jumped to her feet. "Nice meeting you, Miss." She smiled before turning and running back to her father's waiting arms. Lily laughed, waving good bye and opening her office door.

As she prepared her office for the day ahead, Lily's mind mused on the idea of a child in the asylum, or moreover, the idea of a child in itself. It seemed to her that the asylum leached all the happiness from anything that entered. Once you entered the building, being cheerful became a struggle in your personal life as well. Smiling children was an oddity

"Lily?" In the open doorway to her office stood the muscular form of Sirius Black, the first friend Lily had made on the job. Sirius was a serious, no pun intended, individual, though he had no reserves about cracking the occasional joke. He knew when to take things seriously, and had become a sort of older brother figure to her. On her first day, she'd been so overwhelmed and confused, but Sirius had stepped out of the way to help her. He'd lead her around the entire building and shown her the best spots to hang around in if you just needed a minute.

"Sirius," She greeted with a smile.

"Are we doing it today?"

"Yes,"

"Brilliant," Sirius nodded. "I'll tell Mary to get him up, then."

"He" was, of course, referring to James Potter, and "it" was obviously the plan that they had conceived after Lily confronted him with the belief that James was innocent. She had taken it to the head of the asylum, but the nasty toad of a woman was more convinced that everyone was guilty until proven innocent than she was convinced the planets orbit the sun.

_ Pink was the foremost thought on Lily's mind as she entered the head's office. The walls were decorated in gaudy pink lace wallpaper, and there were pictures of cats everywhere. It wasn't an unprofessional room, just unnerving. The owner of such a room would make sense to be a young child; however this was not the case. The woman was only twenty years older than Lily, and was always dressed in shades of pink. She had pink tweed, pink silk and pink cotton dresses that hugged her form in a most unflattering way. In fact, she loved pink so much Lily was convinced that, if she didn't find it so appalling, she would have died her hair pink long ago. As it were, her hair remained a mousy brown, and always done up in a twist that resembled a fifties housewife. _

_If her outward tastes and appearance weren't enough to ward away the casual observer, carrying a conversation with her for more than a minute would do the trick. She had a way with language and words that could turn a compliment into a degrading remark on your personality and life views. She accompanied every insult with a smile-laughter combo that could cause a seasoned warrior to have bile rise up into his mouth._

_ Her name was Dolores Umbridge and Lily positively despised her._

_ "Ms. Evans," Greeted the aforementioned in the sugarcoated-poison way of hers._

_ "Dolores," Lily said as pleasantly as she could manage._

_ "Take a seat," Umbridge laced her fingers and placed them on her desk. "What do you want to speak to me about?"_

_ "I'm requesting release forms for my patient James Potter."_

_ "Whatever for?" Her tone was decidedly less friendly._

_ "I believe he's innocent-"_

_ "Innocent?" Umbridge cut her off. _

_ "Yes," Lily pushed on. "I don't think he killed anyone. I think he saw who did it, but the blow to his head affected his memory of the night. If I could just use hypnosis-"_

_ "Innocent," Umbridge repeated again. Lily shut her mouth with a snap, realizing too late that she should never have brought this to her boss. The woman was dead set in her beliefs. "He murdered his entire family. The police collected the evidence. I watched the trial, personally. The man is guilty."_

_ "Yes, but the police never took into account his injuries-"_

_ "Self-inflicted to deter suspicion." She chuckled. _

_ "Why would he do that and not leave?" Lily protested._

_ "Because he is not intelligent."_

_ "James Potter is highly intelligent-"_

_ "Clearly, he is not-"_

_ "He is!" Lily shouted, unaware of the volume of her voice. "He is intelligent. He received top marks in school; a simple glance at his records could tell you that. His biggest infraction, legally, was a prank that got out of hand. I read the police report on that as well. Charges were dropped. You only need have one session with him to know that he is compassionate and kind. He isn't capable of such a horrendous crime!"_

_ Umbridge stood, towering herself over Lily's seated form. "Dr. Evans, it sounds as if you fancy this man."_

_ "W-what?" Lily stuttered, taken aback. "No, no of course I don't."_

_ "You certainly formed an attachment that is far beyond patient-doctor." The horrid woman moved to the file cabinets-also pink-located in the back of her office. She shuffled through them before pulling out a file marked _Potter, J_. Umbridge sat herself down once more, riffling through the papers until she came to the one she was searching for. "I'm going to have to remove you as James Potter's acting psychologist."_

_ "You can't do that!"_

_ "I can." Umbridge scowled at Lily. _

_ "Please," Lily begged._

_Umbridge stared at her for a moment, before sighing. "You have three months to reign in this 'attraction', and if you haven't, you will be removed."_

"_Thank you." _

"_There is an order to how things work here," Umbridge returned the file to its cabinet. "And if you don't follow the order, measures will be taken."_

_ "Measures?"_

_ "Such as the termination of your position here." Umbridge looked calmly back at her. "Good day, Ms. Evans."_

Lily had walked out of that meeting shocked and enraged. Sirius had run into her and she yelled for an hour about 'the bloody unfair system'. Sirius had jokingly said something about breaking out, and she'd latched onto the idea. And so it formed. The plan required Lily to call in favors from old friends and new friends alike, like Remus.

Remus Lupin was Lily's oldest friend; she'd known him since they were eleven. They went to primary and secondary school together, though Lily never spoke much to him until a particularly awful moment when she was fifteen. Lily never thought much about the painful memory, but she had lost her best and closest friend when he called her a dirty slur. She had cried privately for hours, until Remus had found her. The two had been close from then on. Of course, when they went off to university, Lily began studying Psychology and he began to study Secondary Education. Well, he had until his parents had died their second year. (Hence the reason he was now a truck driver.)

Lily looked up in time to see James opening her door. She felt the tension of her memories and worries for the plan melt away very briefly as she smiled at him. He looked the same as always, white pajamas, messy hair, and crooked glasses to match his crooked smile. She felt her heart thump unevenly in her chest. "Afternoon, James, I'm just finishing up some papers. Please sit." She forced a calm smile.

The appointment went as they usually do, and by the end James knew of the plan. Lily began to prepare herself an alibi, for Umbridge would obviously suspect her before any of the rest of the staff.

Firstly, she had to find Mary. Mary was a nurse in the asylum and only vaguely aware of why Lily needed her to lie and say the two spent the afternoon together. She would claim they drove all the way to London to visit the shops, and spent the evening having tea at her house. Later that day when Sirius told her about Marlene needing clothes as well, Mary covered for her again.

Secondly, Lily had to make sure Remus knew to come during the usual delivery time, and then hang around the back lot until late. She would make sure the gates were open, and the guards would let the truck out-simple really, considering Mary's husband, Reginald, worked the gates that night.

Third and finally, Lily was going to tell James how she felt about him. She wasn't sure when it had really set in-perhaps when Umbridge pointed it out, but Lily did indeed fancy James. He made her feel comfortable and safe, and she took too many risks for him. Months of hearing his life story had caused these emotions to bubble and simmer until she could barely look him in the eyes without smiling wider than a child on Christmas. It was conflicting and unprofessional and absolutely career condemning, but for some reason, she didn't care. And then they were out. Marlene, Sirius, and James were out and not coming back. She had no allies within the asylum, save for Mary.

The day following was empty and cold, Lily's energy was depleted, and she just hoped they were safe.

* * *

**A/N- Tada! Your interest has convinced me to continue the story! Sorry this is shorter than the last one but it's been so long and I really wanted to get it up. This chapter and the next won't be focused too much on James, and instead will be on our female cast! **

**I really enjoy your theories and interest!**

**Reviews are sex.**

**I'm not JKR.**


	3. Chapter 3

The water rolled down Marlene's face, as she held her breath and ran her hands through her now short hair. So much had happened in the past week, and now she was somewhere in Wales with three men she hardly knew. She could call, write, or contact anyone at all-not that she had anyone to contact aside from her mother. Her mother who had moved to Vermont, in America, to live with her sister. They had been allowed mail in the asylum, but she hadn't gotten a single letter. Not a word from the woman she had saved. Well, sort of. When she had told James about that night she may have lied a little. Or a lot.

Placing her hand on the wall, Marlene gasped for air after releasing her breath. No reason to think about that night, not then, anyway. She instead ran her hands through her hair, ignoring the awkward feeling of the ends being so close to her head. She was alone in the women's washroom at some dingy truck stop that Remus had pulled them over to. They had all climbed out, grateful for some sunlight and fresh air, only to have boxes of hair dye and scissors thrust at them. Marlene had been confused, but soon Remus explained that their pictures were probably plastered on every newspaper, every telephone pole, every television special broadcast from London to Liverpool, so they should take precautionary measures. And that meant hair, names, clothes, or anything stagnant the police would have on record.

Sirius had thrown a minor fit at the prospect of cutting his hair, but in the end he cropped it short to the point where it looked like James' hair. And James had decided on a buzz cut, laughing about how "he hadn't had a decent haircut since spring". Marlene, however, the more easily definable of the three with her big blue eyes and nearly white blonde hair, had opted for a pixie cut with the attachment of dying her hair a sandy brown. Her new hair, incidentally, matched Remus's quite nicely; so her new alias became Victoria-after her mother's favorite Doctor Who companion, and she adopted herself as Remus's younger sister. James chose Michael Greenland because Michael was "an ordinary enough name" and Greenland because of the green pastures he'd grown up around as a kid. Sirius chose the name John Jones after his two favorite members of The Who, but only after called himself "John Lennon, no the other one!" had failed to gain him a laugh.

Afterwards Marlene had begged for some time to shower, since she hadn't in a week and felt completely haggard. Remus had agreed, giving all of them the allotted time of thirty-five minutes (the five for insurance). James had wandered off to the boy's washroom with Remus, but Marlene didn't stay long enough to see what Sirius did. She'd found being in the same relative area as him without James or Remus as a buffer made her feel awkward. She would avoid looking him in the eyes and give short, noncommittal replies when he asked her things. If he sat near her, she would quickly move to as far away as she could get in a truck bed. When James mentioned it, she laughed and pretended it was nothing, but at the end of the day... It was the kiss.

The kiss they'd shared before leaving, when she believed she wouldn't see him again, was weighing heavily on her mind. It was an impulsive decision that she hadn't been prepared to deal with afterwards. Sure she had flirted with him occasionally, but that was just to keep her boredom at bay in the asylum. All the rest of the patients were too far gone to even talk to, and James was clearly out of the game the second he came back from his first appointment with Dr. Evans. The last person she thought of was Sirius because he smiled at her when she walked through the double doors for her appointments with Dr. Lovegood, and sometimes he called her love when checking her medical tags before meals. It was easy to gravitate towards him then, but now he was there. He was a person she could speak to and touch. He had thoughts and opinions. He enjoyed sharing with James, and complaining loudly to Marlene, even when she didn't answer. He liked pears, and hated tomatoes on his burgers. He'd been to America once, and preferred Epcot to Disney World. His favorite band was The Who, and he secretly listened to the Beatles and Queen, if James gave him control over the wireless radio in the back. He was real, and that terrified Marlene.

So she had escaped to the showers, spending a heavy chunk of those thirty-five minutes standing under the water, waiting for her thoughts to wash away like the weeks' worth of grime. That was, until the door opened.

Marlene shrunk back against the wall of the shower, turning the water off, begging beyond hope that whoever it was wouldn't come around the corner to where she was. When she didn't at once become a part of the wall, she hoped it was just Remus alerting her to the time left (somewhere around ten-odd minutes), but it was worse.

"McKinnon?"

Sirius.

She held her breath even harder, scrunching her nose with the effort. Walk away, just walk away, she pleaded silently. Why in the hell had he come into the bathroom? The ladies bathroom, at that! God, that wanker, that absolute c-

"There you are!" The curtain was yanked back and the two stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity-but was probably more like a second-as Sirius' gray eyes traveled down her body, soaking it in like he couldn't quite believe she wasn't dressed. Really, in a shower and in a state of undress, what a revolutionary concept. Marlene, on the receiving end, tried harder than before to just become part of the tile wall. Strange, but not foreign, images of her and he shagging against the wall. Then suddenly, like they were electrified, Marlene's hands, which had been pressing the wall, moved to shove Sirius away, and he shouted throwing the curtain back into place.

"Bloody hell, McKinnon!"

"Fucking Christ, Sirius!"

"Where are your clothes?"

"On the chair,"

"Why are they on the chair?"

"Maybe because I'm showering, you knob!"

"For twenty minutes?"

Marlene stuck her head around the curtain, glaring at Sirius who'd retreated to the opposite end of the bathroom. "I'm a girl, Black, my junk doesn't just protrude." That wasn't why she'd been in so long, of course, but the real reason was a slight more embarrassing.

"First off, that's oversharing," Sirius closed his eyes and held his hand up like he could block the mental image. "Secondly, I'm sorry."

"Right," She huffed. "You should be."

"Yeah,"

"Apology accepted,"

"Alright,"

"Okay,"

There was a pause, where both parties allowed their flushes to die down. Marlene moved back behind the curtain, and placed her hand over her mouth to stifle the bashful giggles. Why was it that they couldn't be around each other alone without something completely mortifying happening?

"You're really fit," He remarked, almost idly.

"Is that why you pulled back the curtain?" She smiled slightly, though he couldn't see. "To see me naked? I mean you could have asked."

"Would you have said yes?" He joked back.

"Of course not."

"Ah right, because you don't like me." She could imagine his frown, eyebrows pulled down, shadowing his eyes and lips pursed.

"Why do you say that?" Marlene glanced back around the curtain. His face was just like she'd imagined, and he rested both his hands on top of his head like he was trying to get his breath back. He turned to look at her, and she jolted back, feeling as though she'd been caught.

"You haven't spoken a word to me in three days," He sounded angry. "And you've done a pretty brilliant job of avoiding me otherwise."

Marlene was left speechless. What she couldn't guess was that it was actually driving Sirius crazy. Since she'd kissed him on the night they left, that was all he could think about, though in a slightly different context than she. He had found her cute, but as seven years her superior, it was nothing more than a young girl with a crush to him. But then, she kissed him, and he hadn't been expecting it, and he hadn't been expecting his entire body to flood with adrenaline, and he most certainly hadn't expected himself to respond so enthusiastically. Sirius was by no means a virgin, nor was he one to date so much younger than him, but Marlene was something.

She was something that made him pretend to sleep at night when he was really thinking about her, because that kiss couldn't have been a fluke. Something that made him smile more than he'd smiled in a long time, especially when she was smiling. She was witty and always had something to say. She liked vegetables more than she liked fruit, and would not do with pears. She'd never been to America, but her mum lived in Vermont. She preferred American music to English. She could speak French as a child, but couldn't remember how. She smiled when he called her love, and when she flirted she tugged on the ends of her curls. And all that ran through his head at this particular moment was that he wouldn't mind seeing her with her clothes off again. If she let him, that is.

"I'm sorry,"

Hearing the tone of her voice broke something in him, and he laughed. "You're too pretty to stay mad at." And she laughed too, but, god, did something in him desperately want to tell her everything he just felt he couldn't. "Are there no ruddy chairs in here?"

"Why would there be chairs in the loo?" She laughed.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find one." Marlene heard the door open and shut again. Turning back to the showerhead she figured she might as well finish her shower. So she did. She washed the last remains of soap out of her hair, musing they must have burned up at least five of the last ten minutes. When she was all clean, but before she could shut off the water the door opened again. Marlene donned a silly sort of grin as she heard the chair that Sirius had undoubtedly pulled over scrape against the tile floor, and rolled her eyes. She peeked around the curtain to make sure it was him, and saw him sitting against the wall just out of view of the crack in the curtain. Marlene took a deep breath and plucked up her courage. "Did you come in the bathroom just to flirt with me?"

"No that's ridiculous." He dismissed. "I'm here because you're ignoring me."

"I'm only ignoring you because it's awkward!" She peeked around the shower curtain, catching just a glimpse of his black hair, matted down from the humidity. "We kissed and I didn't think I'd see you—and it's awkward. In the movies it's not, or in books."

"No," He agreed.

"In those it's all snogging and shagging and happily ever after," She sighed, moving back behind the curtain, forgetting she wasn't alone and simply talking to herself. "I would love to kiss you again. I really would, but it's just so awkward. I don't think I can do it." Marlene chewed on her lip, looking at the ceiling until the curtain was pulled away again.

There was another second that seemed like an eternity, this time his eyes stayed fixed on hers, his hands clenched into fists like he was afraid he was going to do something. Like he wanted to reach out and touch her, but didn't. Marlene wished he would.

"You know how they make it less awkward in the movies?" He asked, finally moving his hand to push a wet strand of her new hair out of her face, it just fell right back, but his hand stayed, thumb gently stroking her cheek.

"What?" She breathed.

"They keep kissing."

And his lips were on hers, and his eyes were burning every inch of her body. And it was hot, and wet, and dangerous in all sorts of ways. And they could have broken twenty bones, but they didn't. His hands were sure in their strokes, and he was gentle with every inch of her, but he wasn't afraid. Her hands found their grip on his shoulders, on his back, anything that served as an anchor. He pushed her to the edge and held her there like it was a great natural wonder that she needed to pause and hold on to because she may see it again but she may not for a while, until he let her fall over the edge. And if the fall wasn't as brilliant as the view beforehand. His release, her release, they couldn't tell whose came first. Afterwards, when they sat together with the cold water beating their bare backs, Sirius kept a hold of her.

In her head, this never had to end, but in his head he was scared. He had gotten to kiss her-every inch of her-and so much more, but now he had to deal with the complicated feelings part. She made his heart beat faster. And he was terrified. Once, when he was very young, he'd loved someone and they abandoned him. His family had treated him horribly until he ran away, and he knew that love-that affection, meant pain.

To him this was new territory, but to her it was a pleasant feeling revisited. When she had been in high school she dated a boy in every way the opposite of Sirius and he had dropped her. He used her for sex and then never spoke to her again. Half the school heard about it before she'd even walked six steps into the door the next Monday. She was usually guarded with feelings and impulses, but then her father died. She'd barely held anything back since then, even in the asylum.

_She was vaguely aware of screaming. Someone was, and it was probably her. With no real idea why other than she was vaguely frustrated that her injuries made it hard for her to get undressed, so she screamed. She just kept screaming until she forgot the cause and remembered her father...her poor mother. She thought about her life and her pain and she screamed. She'd never been able to scream at home; if she had her father would have..._

_Anyway._

_Her room door opened and some of the orderlies came to restrain her. She didn't know any of them, and they were touching her person. Marlene flailed and kicked and fought to continue her scream. She didn't want to be restrained. She wanted this to be the one place where she could completely let go, but clearly it was not._

_"Ms. McKinnon," An orderly was yelling at her, _Ms. McKinnon_, like she would respond. Instead, she clocked him in the jaw. Another orderly, a taller, more handsome one stood in front of her. He had a syringe, but instead of immediately sedating her, he watched her._

_"_Marlene_," He toned, clearly and with authority. Marlene snapped her mouth shut, silencing her scream, but continued to stare at the man. "Are you alright?"_

_"Fine," She said._

_"Why did you scream?"_

_"I've never been able to scream." She shrugged as much as she could with the orderly restraining her._

_"So you scream now?" He glanced at the clock reading 11:30 pm._

_"I'll scream for you later, if you want." She flushed immediately after the words left her mouth. Why did she say that? Why in the holy hell did she even thing to say that? That was not her, not her personality at all! He probably thought she was creepy now. Not that she cared, but she wasn't. Why did she-_

_He laughed._

_He _laughed_._

_"If you promise to be quiet, I promise not to sedate you." He smiled slightly._

_"I promise-" She glanced at his I.D. "-Sirius."_

Eventually they turned off the water and dried off. Well over the thirty-five minute limit, they walked back to the truck together, stupid smiles and standing too close to each other. They didn't hold hands, but every so often Marlene would look at Sirius and catch him staring at her.

"Where the bloody hell have you two been for the past twenty minutes?" Remus marched up to them, demanding. James was resting just inside the truck bed, and he had a stupid arrogant smirk on his face like he knew exactly what they'd been up to, the tosser.

"Nowhere," Sirius shrugged casually. He threw a wink at Marlene, jumping into the truck bed, and she sighed, knowing the next day was going to be no different than the last. Not really.

* * *

**A/N- The Marlene Chapter! I plan to give each character an introductory chapter at this point, Remus, Sirius, and Mary are coming soon. **

**Any questions? Drop a review!**

**You know reviews?**

**They're like that one day in March where it's really warm.**


	4. Chapter 4

It wasn't the unnatural August chill that woke Sirius Black up before the sun had a chance to rise, nor was it the foot unceremoniously dangling an inch from his nose (he batted this away with muffled cursing), but instead, the blonde-now brown haired-girl who unknowingly cuddled her head against his abdomen. Or more specifically, the nightmare he'd had where she'd died. It had started off as a normal enough dream, but progressively it became more and more dark. Marlene was taken by the police, given the death penalty, and killed while all he could do was watch. The nightmare had chilled him straight to the bone with a fear that he could only conquer by gently tugging her body against his and taking solace in the fact that she was there, she was warm. She was alive.

It had been another two weeks since what they both referred to privately as The Bathroom Incident, and since then, there had been multiple repeats. All of them leading to more confused and muddled emotions inside of Sirius. The incidents had been unintentional at first, but then grew with a sort of addicted urgency every time there was a rest stop or a food break. Afterwards Sirius would feel guilty because he knew she really did like him and all he could offer was... well, he didn't know what he had to offer. Fancying her, as he did but hadn't admitted to himself, scared him to death because now did she not only have the power to hurt him, but he now worried about her whenever she was alone. Alone meant virtually unprotected. Alone meant she could be recognized. Marlene could handle herself, sure, but the knowledge of that didn't stop the little Fear Monster inside of his brain from fretting. The worst was if he told her exactly how he felt, she would probably slap him, kiss him, and slap him again because if he knew Marlene, and he was fairly certain he did, she would be offended and flattered.

She really did look beautiful when she slept. He never got to look at her sleeping because he was always the first one out and the last one up, but just then he watched her sleep. The gentle slope of her slightly upturned nose, leading down to her mouth (which hung open slightly, in sleep) combined with her almond shaped eyes were all features of a face that could easily be lost in a crowd, but Sirius couldn't get out of his head. God, he wanted to kiss her. He wanted her to stay wrapped in his arms for the rest of his life. He wanted to be able to kiss her, hold her, and shag her endlessly without all the guilt of not being what she would call 'official'. She shifted in his arms so that her left arm was resting on his chest, hand gently curled around the fabric of his t-shirt. He hoped his heartbeat wouldn't wake her.

Then she sneezed.

"Bless you," Sirius whispered.

"Thank you," She smiled sleepily before frowning and shivering.

"Cold?" He asked softly, running his hands along her arms. She nodded, burrowing her head in his shoulder. Sirius pulled the sweatshirt he'd been using as a pillow out from under his head and held it out for her. She stared at the sweatshirt for a moment, taking in the plain blue color and the largeness-it could easily fit her as a dress. After the moment of scrutiny she nearly tore it from Sirius' hands to yank it over her head and sigh in contentment. Sirius assumed from the warmth it brought, but in reality it was because it smelled of him.

"Now you'll be cold." She stated, as if suddenly realizing his lack of covered skin.

"Nah," He shook his head, pulling her back down into his arms. She smiled at him before leaning up to kiss the underside of his jaw. An electric shock rocketed through him, and he twisted until her mouth was a breath from his. Slowly, gently, he pressed his lips to hers, savoring the feeling. Even if her lips were a little chapped, even if they both had morning breath, Sirius loved to kiss her. The morning breath he could get used to if he woke up to it every morning. Whoa, wait, where had _that_ thought come from? Sirius pulled back, frightened by the committed route his thoughts had begun taking in favor of just lying with Marlene in his arms.

He really did like it when she was in his arms, and, eventually, they both drifted off to sleep again.

Somewhere near an hour later, James, Remus, Sirius and Marlene had all sat down in a quaint little diner for breakfast. Remus had ordered eggs and bacon, James had pancakes and Marlene wanted French toast. Sirius wasn't a breakfast person, and he would eventually make Remus stop for a snack of some sort. At this point though he was just tired, he wished he could rest his eyes for just a minute, but he'd be damned if he let the waiter alone with Marlene. The waiter was a perky blonde haired fellow named Amos, who was very obviously hitting on Marlene every time he came by to "check on" his "favorite customers."

Sirius wanted to sock him.

The waiter came around for the sixth time in ten minutes. "Does anybody need anything?" He addressed the table, but was looking at Marlene.

"No thank you, we're fine." She smiled pleasantly, and he left.

Sirius' frown deepened as he turned back to the conversation he'd been ignoring. Apparently Remus had called his wife and gotten the green light on Sirius, Marlene, and James all living with them until they could find an apartment to hide out in. They lived in Wales and the lot of them would be heading there starting that day. Before then, they had just been driving around, helping Remus with his deliveries. His house was just outside of Cardiff, and had a spare room for all of them to sleep in.

"More coffee?" Interrupted the bloody waiter. Again.

"How about," Sirius began. "You leave us alone for more than thirty seconds, and we'll flag you down if we need anything. You're welcome to hold your breath."

"Si-_John_," Marlene scolded, almost forgetting to use his fake name.

"What?"

"We're fine, thank you." She said, without turning to look back at the waiter. Once he'd walked away, her expression darkened. "May I speak with you?"

Sirius leaned back.

"_Alone_," She clarified. He sighed, waiting for her to slide out of the booth before he followed. She walked along the counter until she reached the hallway leading to the bathroom. It was a bare, empty hall with two doors at the end marked "Restroom" and "Staff Only" respectively. Marlene walked until she was at the bathroom door, and then flipped around, walking quickly back towards him.

"What the hell was that?" She furiously whispered.

"Me getting rid of a pest." Sirius scoffed.

"He was doing his _job_-"

"He was _flirting_ with you-"

"How is that any of your business?" Marlene crossed her arms, eyebrow shooting up.

"Because I'm-"

"What?" She interrupted. "You're my what? _Boyfriend_? Because I don't think we ever specified what _this_-" She gestured between them. "-is. You're certainly not my boyfriend, so I don't think you have any right to act that way."

"Marlene, he was all over you."

"And that still doesn't give you the right to act like a jealous twat!"

He rolled his eyes.

"Listen, even if we were dating, do you really think I'd date someone who acted like that?" She laughed humorlessly. "I'm a fully grown woman and I can handle myself."

"You're eighteen-"

"And I can handle myself." She was frowning at him. "I don't need saving from overly flirty waiters. I don't want it. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm helpless."

"I never said-"

"But you imply it when you do shit like that."

"I didn't mean to."

Marlene shook her head. "No, but you did. I'm not mad about the implications, I'm mad-I'm _angry_ because this isn't the first time this has happened! You treat me like property! Fucking hell, I _feel_ like property. We aren't dating. We aren't engaged, or married. I never signed a contract that said 'Marlene McKinnon is now hereby and forever the property of Sirius Black.' I don't like it when you're possessive. I don't find it attractive. It's degrading and embarrassing. Sirius, jealousy isn't a becoming trait."

Sirius rolled his eyes, taking in the physicality of angry Marlene. Her neck and ears flushed; there was a crease between her eyebrows, and the corner of her mouth lifted in a pseudo-sneer. It was dead sexy. "I thought birds liked it when their boyfriends were jealous."

"Their _boyfriends_," She emphasized the word, and Sirius caught on (or so he thought).

"Alright, Marlene," Sirius smirked. "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"

Marlene looked horrified. "_No_,"

"What do you mean 'no'?" He raised his voice.

"I mean no!" She matched his volume. "I would not like to be a possessive man-child's girlfriend. I would not like to deal with the sexist idea that I'm lesser. There is no way in hell I'm going to be your girlfriend until you deal with yourself." Sirius looked hurt. He _felt_ hurt. He really didn't know why and somewhere inside he knew he had no right to be, but he really did care about her. Some part of him knew it was coming, and what had to happen next.

"Marlene," He began, reaching out to cradle her cheek with his hand.

"Don't touch me!" She slapped his hand away from her face. "I'm bloody angry with you! You aren't allowed to lay a hand on me unless I tell you. Do you understand that? I really hope you do, because there is no way I'm dating a man who doesn't. My mother did that, and look where that ended me up."

Something in the way she phrased the sentence made Sirius pause. "What do you mean, ended _you_ up? He beat your mother, right?"

"Yeah, r-right, that's what I meant."

"Marlene?" He didn't think. He just reached his hands out again, this time placing them on her shoulders. She looked grateful for the contact for a minute, a second, before her face darkened again.

"I SAID DON'T BLOODY TOUCH ME," She pushed him away. "Jesus Christ, Black! What the fuck did I say not even twenty seconds ago? Don't. Touch. Me. And then you did, I cannot believe you-"

"I'm sorry," He was. He really _really_ was.

"-You know what?" She barreled on, ignoring his apology. "Don't touch me. Don't speak to me. Don't even bloody look at me, unless you have to. I'm so damn angry with you right now! You completely disregarded my feelings, again!"

"I'm sorry," He repeated.

She sighed, her eyes softening just a tad. "I'm going to go back to the table and switch with James, and you're going to sit like normal. No questions, okay?"

He nodded.

"Good," And that was just how it happened. Marlene switch with James, who sent the both of them questioning looks, to which neither replied. Then, when they left for Cardiff, Marlene asked Remus if she could sit up front with him. He had agreed shooting a look back at Sirius just as James had.

Alone in the back of the truck-well not really alone, James was there, but Sirius didn't count him-Sirius thought about everything that had happened. He supposed that he had acted like a prat, and that most of what she said was true, but... He wasn't sexist was he? Just because he was jealous and snapped at a waiter? No, he decided, no he wasn't. It was just her mind overreacting as women tend to do all the time.

The way she had snapped and left. He couldn't help believing that his behavior had broken something between them. The phrase that kept playing in his head was "look where that ended me up" like her father had been abusing her instead of her mother. That would explain the bruises and cuts she had when she arrived, and the lack of them on her mother during the trial. But the only flaw was that Marlene was sent to the asylum because she had caught her father beating her mother and killed him. Unless...unless...

_Bloody fucking hell._

* * *

**A/N- Sorry for the cliffy! Also, sorry this is so short, but I really wanted to get in another update before I went on vacation! **

**Soon we'll be getting our Jily. I promise. Next chapter. Maybe.**

**Reviews are well written smut.**


	5. Chapter 5

It had only been a month since they'd gone, and he promised to write. Every letter in her inbox, every delivery of mail to her flat, and every bloody envelope made her heart skip a beat until she opened them and they weren't him. She'd nearly stopped hoping that a letter would come until the inevitable day in late August, when Lily went to get her mail after a long day of work, and there it was. A normal looking envelope that could easily pass for a bill, except for the one giveaway. It lacked a return address. Suffice it to say, Lily quite nearly ran up the stairs to her second floor flat.

He'd written. He'd really written.

She got a paper cut opening the letter so fast.

_Lily,_

_ I don't have much time to write this because we've only stopped at a diner for a moment, see? Remus has told us his wife is letting us stay with them for a while, and I trust you know their address. Are you safe? Has anyone questioned you about us? You're welcome to come to Remus' house as well; he's said it's fine. _

_ The search is really heating up, I can tell. We're the only things on the news lately. "Escaped psychos" they've called us. We've had to keep extremely low profiles, haircuts, name changes, the works._

For some odd reason, the idea of James cutting his heart perturbed Lily. She didn't like the idea of not being able to watch him run his hands through it like he had done so casually in meetings.

The letter continued,

_Marlene even dyed her hair brown. I suppose I should tell you what to call us now. Sirius is John Jones, Marlene is Victoria Lupin (and that's mostly because with her new hair, she resembles Remus quite a lot. It also adds that we can go under the pseudonym of family visiting family), and I am Michael Greenland. So, that's to whom you should address any letters you write. That is if you write letters to us, I don't mean to be presumptuous. _

_ I hope you're happy light hasn't dimmed since I've last seen you. You mean so much to me, even if we aren't properly together._

_ Looks like we're leaving now, so I'll write you another time. Probably after the hype dies down._

_I can't stop thinking about you,_

_James/"Michael"_

Her heart was in her throat. Of course she'd write. Of course she knew the Lupins' address. _Of course_ she hadn't stopped thinking about him either.

* * *

_James or Michael,_

_ I am so, so happy you're safe. (You _are _safe, yes? Judging by your letter, you seem to be.) By the time this gets to you, or by the time I have the courage to send it, it will be September. Also, I'll probably have talked myself in and out of visiting. Remus is my friend, but it would seem very suspicious to take a vacation only three weeks after you lot vanished. Or maybe it wouldn't, but my boss reads into everything. She was convinced I had a thing for you! Obviously I did-I _do_, but it's more the principle of the thing._

_ Things here have been quiet. I've had twice the work load as usual because the alternate psychologist, Xenophilius Lovegood, has missed a few days of work without calling in. Umbridge, my boss, hasn't taken care to check in on him, but I'm worried. He has a little girl named Luna, you know? It's just the two of them because his wife passed on just recently. They're both very sweet people, and he missed days without calling then, too. I really hope nothing has happened to Luna. She was such a quirky little girl and can't be older than six. _

_ Did you get my address from Remus?_

_All my love,_

_Lily_

* * *

_Lily,_

_ Yes, I'm safe. Yes, I got your address from Remus. And you were right, it is September. _

_ Please visit, we've died down on the news and in the papers. I would love seeing you. It's been really tense here for me because Sirius and Marlene are fighting. Apparently he's a prick and she's kept something humongously important from him. Oh did I forget to tell you they were apparently shagging for half of August? Because they certainly didn't tell me._

_ Remus's wife Nymphadora (though she insists we call her by her maiden name, Tonks) is a gem. She's very sweet really, but obviously loves her job. She's a cop, which was off putting at first, but you probably knew that. Imagine that, though, a cop helping out two escaped criminals and their accomplices. Tonks is also a good bit younger than Remus, which I wasn't expecting. She's Marlene's age, that is to say, eighteen. Oh yeah, and she's pregnant! Cheers!_

_ Lovegood's disappeared? That's troublesome. He was Marlene's psychologist, wasn't he? I always liked him. Let me know if he turns up._

_All your love, hmm?_

_James_

* * *

_James,_

_ You're right, it has died down. Maybe I will visit then? It's not very shocking that they got together, is it? Considering how they parted. Well considering how we parted, that would lend to us getting together as well. Wouldn't it?_

_ Tonks is pregnant? That's so wonderful! I think Remus will make a brilliant father. He always used to tell me in school that he didn't want to have kids because was afraid he'd pass on his autism. I don't know if you knew that he was, but he _is_ very high functioning. Anyway, the both of them will love that child to bits._

_ Xenophilius still hasn't resurfaced which has got me on edge. Yeah, he was Marlene's doctor. Mary went over to his house the other day and no one answered, and Umbridge _still_ refuses to notify the authorities!_

_Yes, James, _all my love_._

_Lily_

* * *

The phone in the Lupin house rang. It was a bit late for that, James thought as he toweled his hair off after a shower. He knew he really shouldn't be answering, but Remus and Tonks had been busy all day and needed their sleep. Marlene and Sirius couldn't answer because that mess of a relationship seemed to be somewhat on the mends. They hadn't immediately jumped back into bed with each other; in fact it took the majority of the past two weeks for Marlene to even speak civilly to him. But now they were sleeping together, not shagging, just sleeping in the same bed. Bloody idiots.

Anyway, the phone was ringing at 10 at night.

"Hello?"

"Remus, can you put Ja-uh, Michael on the line?" The voice was feminine. One James hadn't realized he'd been starved for until the loud, frantic tone nearly burst his eardrum.

"Lily, it's James."

There was a pause. "James," She breathed. That did something to his insides. Dear god, they were in knots he could never untangle.

"Hi, Lily," He wondered if his voice did the same to her as it did to him.

"James, turn on the news." She commanded the urgency back.

"What, Lily, why?" He pulled the cord of the phone as far as it would go to flip the small television in the kitchen on. There was a newscast running, something had happened. Someone was dead.

"-_-Notable psychologist, Dr. Xenophilius Lovegood, and his six year old daughter have been found murdered, in their home this evening._" The newscaster began,"_There are no current suspects as of now, but police have revealed that the murders are nearly identical to the murders of the Potters, earlier this year-_"

James shut the television off.

"Lil, I didn't do it." He whispered frantically into the phone.

"I know you didn't, James." She reassured him, and he relaxed. Wait a minute, Lovegood.

"That's the doctor and his daughter, isn't it, Lily." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah, James." Her voice cracked and he could hear her crying. He wished he could go to wherever she was and pull her into his arms. It was heartbreaking to hear her heart breaking and not be able to hold her.

"Lily, I'm so sorry." She sniffled, and he held the phone with both of his hands, like the comfort could travel that way. His towel lay abandoned on the floor. Somewhere in his mind he was aware that they both kept saying the other's name. Not a sentence passed without a 'Lily' or 'James' falling somewhere within them. Eventually, they both had to hang up, but Lily left him with the promise of seeing him the next day.

What kept James awake that night was the simple fact that it wouldn't take the police more than a day to jump to the conclusion that he murdered the Lovegoods. After all, Xenophilius had worked at the asylum, and the motive was there. But he couldn't let himself be too troubled. Lily was coming. Lily was going to be in his arms in a day. It struck him that he didn't really know when his feelings had become so strong. It wasn't love, not yet, but it was definitely a deeper affection than he'd ever felt before.

Remus's house was small looking from the outside, with a slightly dull feeling of not being able to look at much but the foliage. Lily knew this. She also knew that inside the house was one of the warmest environments she'd ever stepped into. Plus James was in there. He was waiting for her. She was waiting for him.

She rang the doorbell and Tonks answered.

"Lily," She exclaimed, throwing her arms around the redhead familiarly.

"Hello, Tonks." Lily greeted. "I heard the news! Congratulations."

"Thank you," She dropped a hand to her stomach, and then gestured inside. "Come in, I'll make some tea."

Lily greeted Remus, who was reading on the sofa. The kitchen was bright yellow with brown curtains and always struck her as a strange look for the couple, but they liked it. Lily had barely stepped into the kitchen before she heard feet clamoring down the stairs that ran adjacent to the kitchen. She whipped around just as he appeared in the doorway. One arm braced his body, like he had used it to forcefully stop himself from careening past the room. His other hand went to his hair, but then dropped to his side as he remembered it wasn't there anymore. He wasn't as gauntly thin as he was in the asylum-though he was still thin, and she knew it was because Tonks was a brilliant cook.

"Lily," He breathed, and, oh lord help her, if him saying her name wasn't the best thing she'd heard in years.

"James," She replied with much the same reverence that he held in his. His responding smile was so deliriously wonderful she couldn't help what happened next. Lily all but threw herself into James' arms. He wrapped his arms around her waist, a hand coming to cross her upper back and squeeze her more securely to him. Her own arms instinctively looping around his neck, and she pushed herself up on her tiptoes so she could bury her face in his shoulder. Alternately, he nuzzled his nose into the crook of her neck, glasses lightly pressing against her skin, and they both let out contented sighs. They didn't kiss. They didn't need to. Being in the other's arms was enough of home for each of them.

But it wasn't love. Not yet.

"You're here," He muttered into the skin of her shoulder.

"I'm here."

"Don't leave."

"I don't want to leave." And then they did kiss. It was nowhere near the chaste kisses they shared in the asylum. This kiss was sweet and slow and _home_. The thing was, neither knew how strong their attraction to the other was until the moment they had to separate. It felt like someone had taken a limb or a vital organ and said, "Oh, I'll just be keeping this for a month or so" and left. Now they were back in each other's arms, and god, how had they lived apart?

"I missed you," Lily admitted.

"Same," James rested his forehead on hers, and she leaned up to press a quick kiss against his lips.

"Pardon me!" Came the loud boisterous voice of what could only be Sirius. There was a shove, and Lily found herself against the wall, James pressed intimately against her.

"It's rude to push, Sirius." James called out, but he was smiling.

Smiling at her.

She kissed him again.

* * *

**A/N- Sorry this was so late coming, but here we are! Finally with our jily reunited! Kisses and hugs but not love yet. Winky face.**

**I'm on a bit of a roll so the next chapter should be up fairly soon.**

**Reviews are Commentarius updates.**


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